Hi Everybody! Sorry, but here are another couple Spanish pieces. The first is again by Oscar Espla. It's from a little set called La Sierra (Suite Folklorique) and it's the second piece. I just love the sound of it...the harmonies. I had to put on my belly dancing clothes in order to play it. The middle section is a killer though. I drilled on it about a million times but it's still not perfect. And talk about unusual sounding chords and runs!! I had to do so much checking in order to verify if I was playing correct notes.

The second piece is from an Albeniz set that I did not know about until recently called Recuerdos de Viaje, or Memories of Travel composed between 1886-1887. This one here is the seventh piece - En la Playa, which means by the beach.

Hope these are okay....it happens to be my birthday today, so if you hate these, please wait until tomorrow to tell me.

Happy Birthday Monica !Thank you for these nice posts. I did not know the first composer. The begining seems quite common in terms of harmonies until a strange chord comes and provides a more weird climax... As for Albeniz, it is a nice melody, that could have been as well late XIXth century French music like Fauré. But this is not surprising, since Albeniz has lived in Paris quite a good part of his life, if I remember correctly. Your renditions seem accurate and musical. Thanks for this touch of Spain, very welcome during this cold and misty winter...

Thank you for listening, Francois and Stu. And for the birthday wishes too!

I just find it interesting that these composers come from the same country, yet sound so different! Even so, their music is warm and inviting and yes...it helps on these cold winter days (I'm looking at a ton of snow out my window right now...).

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I enjoyed these, actually the Espla in particular - I thought it was more interesting than the Albeniz which musically I thought was a little hackneyed - a little like him rewriting someone else's work. I prefer your playing in the Espla too: I think it has a little more bite, but that's in part because I think there's more to get your teeth into! Now I must say I noticed something very peculiar - I don't know if it's an aural hallucination! When listening to the Espla (which I did first) I came away with the distinct impression that your piano's treble was quite strongly sharp. I don't know if I'm being tricked by the effect whereby in places the treble is arguably in a different key from the bass, because when I listened to the Albeniz I was listening for that explicit impression of detuned sharpness and only briefly (from about 2.00 to 2.30) did I have any concerns, and I felt that if it was sharp it was only very marginal. Whereas in the Espla, which I just relistened to, the first section, and later on (e.g. the G at 2.52 and from 3.15) I get the same distinct impression (approaching 1/6 tone sharp). It's very curious: I have perfect pitch, but I think in some way my ears are being tricked as I don't see how the treble could be out by differing amounts in each recording!

I enjoyed these, actually the Espla in particular - I thought it was more interesting than the Albeniz which musically I thought was a little hackneyed - a little like him rewriting someone else's work. I prefer your playing in the Espla too: I think it has a little more bite, but that's in part because I think there's more to get your teeth into! Now I must say I noticed something very peculiar - I don't know if it's an aural hallucination! When listening to the Espla (which I did first) I came away with the distinct impression that your piano's treble was quite strongly sharp. I don't know if I'm being tricked by the effect whereby in places the treble is arguably in a different key from the bass, because when I listened to the Albeniz I was listening for that explicit impression of detuned sharpness and only briefly (from about 2.00 to 2.30) did I have any concerns, and I felt that if it was sharp it was only very marginal. Whereas in the Espla, which I just relistened to, the first section, and later on (e.g. the G at 2.52 and from 3.15) I get the same distinct impression (approaching 1/6 tone sharp). It's very curious: I have perfect pitch, but I think in some way my ears are being tricked as I don't see how the treble could be out by differing amounts in each recording!

Yes, I like the Albeniz, but it is a little 'flowery'. Regarding the Espla and my piano sound....I don't know. I listened back and don't hear such out of tune tones as you describe. My piano was tuned in early December so it hasn't been that long. Maybe my post processing did something to the sound? Like maybe my noise reduction process screwed things up? I don't know....like I said, I don't hear the sharpness. Maybe it is as you say a trick on your ears because of the two keys. Or maybe it's just my belly dancing that hypnotized you.... I wonder if anyone else hears this?

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Regarding the Espla and my piano sound....I don't know. I listened back and don't hear such out of tune tones as you describe. My piano was tuned in early December so it hasn't been that long. Maybe my post processing did something to the sound? Like maybe my noise reduction process screwed things up? I don't know....like I said, I don't hear the sharpness. Maybe it is as you say a trick on your ears because of the two keys. Or maybe it's just my belly dancing that hypnotized you.... I wonder if anyone else hears this?

The only rational explanation is that it IS some sort of auditory effect, most peculiar though!

You know what’s weird though? At home last night I listened to my files of these two recordings that are stored on my computer, and then I listened to them through our site. The files on the site were fuzzier than the ones on my computer. That surprised me. They weren’t terribly fuzzy…just a sort of buzz resonating off the notes. Is that normal? Do people who listen to our recordings hear this same buzz?

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Both of these piece are fine compositions and performances too. I can't decide which I like better. You have a passion and flare for Spanish music, and it brings you great joy at the piano. It shows in your evocative playing. These are wonderful performances.

On that buzz you mention on site playback, I've not noticed it. I'll go listen to my Dohnanyi piece. I'm back. I didn't notice any fuzziness around the notes of the Baldwin. They sounded pure to me. Of course, those of us with pianos in the northern latitudes find that our pianos take on a "winter voice" with all the sub-zero F nights. The very low temperatures dry the air, so relative humidity dives too. And nearly all pianos slide flat and sometimes sound a bit more harsh than in the warm weather. That notwithstanding, I think your Yamaha sounds pretty good now despite the elements.

David

_________________"Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities." David April

Regarding the buzz: It's not coming from my piano, but from the file on our site here. I just listened to another one of my more recent recordings and the file on my computer sounds clean and clear, but when I stream the same file that is on our site...the file that's on the Internet...I hear that fuzzy sound. Can weather effect the way files sound on the Internet? We have a lot of snow now and in fact it is snowing right this moment. Please, anyone who reads this, can you listen to one of your own recordings on the site and see if it sounds as clear as the file you have on your computer? I just don't get this....

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

The file on the site is no different from the one on your computer. Our upload is a simple byte-by-byte copy, not a processing job like on YouTube. Any difference in sound must come from the way it is streamed c.q. played by your browser or plugin. When in doubt, first download the file to disk, then open the downloaded file with your regular media player. It will be the same.

The streaming process will be influenced by Internet speed and whatever else your PC is doing at the moment. I've never heard fuzzy sounds though. The problem will be at your end, not at the PS end. You can try a different browser or plugin. There are many options.

Ok, thank you for the explanation. I just confirmed what you said by listening to one of my recordings here at work. It's clean and clear. I pay a lot for my internet at home...makes me wonder what I'm paying for...

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

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